Dreaming of Dawn
by cuddlySloth
Summary: "I'll die in the future?" Yui uttered. Time travel fic. Beggars can't be choosers. Picking a vampire to suck your blood won't guarantee your survival. They're all crazy. What's Yui to do when her only saving grace is a tiny Sakamaki girl from the future, acting as a wedge between Yui and the other brothers, especially Sakamaki Shū?
1. Prologue

**A/N**: The actual beginning. *Sniff* I should really be doing homework.

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><p>Prologue<p>

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><p><strong>-51st Century-<strong>

Thunder roared and shook the entire forest, followed by a crack of lightning that seared across the stormy sky, overlooking a dark castle surrounded by acres of trees. Bats flew out of the trees, rushing past in a panic to escape the downpour. It was the worst storm in the century.

"STOP HER! SHE MUSTN'T GET AWAY!"

A tiny, hooded figure sprinted through the trees, leaping from branch to branch in effort to evade her pursuers. Her breathing was rushed and ragged as she pushed sharp branches out of her face and spitting out leaves. A sharp gasp escaped when one of the castle's butlers snatched her by the hood of her cloak, causing her to nearly choke as she was jerked back with a sharp hiss.

The butler seemed to hesitate, "Young mistress... enough! You 're making a mistake! Don't run from this!"

"We understand it's hard for you at such an age, dealing with these slimy travesties who dare challenge the Sakamaki family! This month has been terrible for all of us, so please!" The other butler chimed in desperately, "Just return to the castle with us. Your father... he's-"

Ice-blue eyes flashed with vehemence as a dark scowl formed on the girl's babyish face. Thrashing in the man's tight grip, the girl howled with rage as she kicked with all her might but to no avail. The men were far too strong and had years of fighting experience beyond her capabilities. Just then, a bat came charging out of nowhere and attacked the butler's eyes with a screech, causing him to scream and drop the girl whilst trying to fend for himself.

The other butler came at her with such speed that the girl barely had time to blink. In a flash, her bloodline ability activated as she managed to foresee his landing and timing within a split second. Right before his hands could make a grab at her, she danced away. However, he managed to grab the hood of her cloak and pulled harshly._  
><em>

A ripping noise resonated when the girl somehow managed to break away with astounding strength, tearing her hood off in the process and revealing a mop of blonde curls. Stumbling away, she faced her captors with a determined look. Her tiny chest heaved with tremendous effort as she eyed them warily, quickly reaching into her music bag and revealed the last of her emergency flash grenades, biting into their pins and quickly tossing them at her captors.

A bright flash lit up the clearing, followed by cries of pain. The tiny blonde remorsefully watched the butlers fall to the ground, writhing in pain as they clutched their ears.

"S...sorry." she murmured, ducking her head. Hurting people is bad... giving them boo-boos is bad... She already knew that. After all, Mama's the one who taught her that.

_'Mama...'_

Large tears welled up in her eyes as she suddenly sniffled, turning away and running off. In their confusion, she sprinted deep into the fog, shrouding her figure until she vanished without a trace.

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><p>She didn't know how she made it, but she managed to find the invisible door that only she knew existed. Once she stuck her hand though the weeping willow tree, she slid through it like water, creating ripples.<p>

Then she found herself in a distorted version of an abandoned cathedral. It'd been rundown for centuries, but now it looked even worse. The benches were floating in mid-air, and she had to duck her head to prevent them from colliding into her. Running up the jagged, floating stairs, she followed the eerie tune of the pipe organ that greeted her until she finally threw open the doors, sobbing her eyes out as she ran towards him.

The ghost of Sakamaki Karliheiz, the previous Vampire King.

"Ah, what a pleasant surprise to see you here," The white and withered pianist turned to face his visitor, a ghastly smile appearing, "Of course, I've been expecting you for a while. You've kept me waiting long enough." The girl hiccuped between sobs, keeping her eyes on the ground as she lifted her heavy skirts and swept into a deep curtsy.

"Hmm." Karlheiz seemed amused, "What a lovely, proper greeting, so unlike the previous times. Have you finally taken after your mother after all this time?" Upon receiving no reply, he chuckled and circled her like a lion, his torn capes fluttering around him as he threw them aside. "So. Why have you come here? It's not good for you to be visiting at such a late hour, even if you are a vampire."

The child cried as she sank to her knees, trembling. Hot tears poured down her face as she violently seized the ghost's cape, trying to hide her face. "M-mama won't wake up. Her body looks so red... a-and she's even prettier than before, but she's so cold when I hug her. She... won't open her eyes no matter what I do." A long silence prolonged the area, save for her sniffles until the ghost finally laid a hand on her head.

"So young..." The old vampire murmured, "Your mother was too young for her ill fate. It seems only yesterday that she wedded my son." Her body quivered with grief as she rose her head, flat out bawling. She clutched onto his cape, tugging with all her strength as she wailed her lungs out. His face remained neutral as he observed her. "There, there. I warned my foolish sons what would happen if they weren't careful. Because of their shortcomings, this is what became of your mother." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a broken crucifix and dropped at her feet.

Karlheiz smiled cheerfully, "I know the perfect way to solve your problem. It requires very special magic."

The girl tearfully blinked up at him, hiccuping, "M...magic?"

"Yes," he nodded slowly, his smile widening a fraction, "I can send you to a very special place. It's called the past... right to where it all began." Kneeling on one knee, he met her eye level and took her hand in his, dropping a locket into her palm. "This is a Sakamaki heirloom. Don't lose it. With this, you can reverse your mistakes however you'd like."

Gasping, the vampire girl examined the locket at eye-level, eyes wide with awe and wonder.

"I'm sending on a mission, Little One. I certainly don't want our bloodline to fall into the hands of Richter's conniving legacy. They're a real disgrace to our own kind." He snarled, grasping her shoulders, "If only I'd've known death is just another eternal afterlife, I would've retained my place as King." He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "I shouldn't have overlooked Richter's capabilities."

The blue-eyed vampire blinked, opening the locket. Inside was a ticking clock.

"This is what you must do. Go back in time and kill Richter before he stirs up this wretched coup against the Sakamaki household. Find out where's he's hiding and kill his fellow conspirators who plan to turn all of vampire society against us." he explained slowly, "To do this, you must ensure your mother's survival at all costs... but do not create an impossibly large rift between her and my sons. An Eve needs her Adam, after all."

Sniffling and hiccuping, the child clutched the locket to her chest.

"Now. Do you understand what you must do?" he asked, cupping her cheek with a ghastly hand. Swallowing her tears, the child nodded ferociously. With a snap of his fingers, a dark portal appeared. He gestured towards it with a smile. "This is the extent of my full capabilities. The rest is up to you." She hesitated upon approaching, staring at it apprehensively before glancing back at her provider.

"A...am I going somewhere scary?"

Karlheiz smiled, "Well, my sons will give you trouble, and but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle..." He came up from behind her, clenching her shoulders tightly. "Now..." he whispered before pushing her into the zapping portal, "GO HAVE FUN~!" In an instant, the portal swallowed the girl whole with a loud hum. With a chuckle, Karlheiz watched as the entire dimension around him began to crumble. Which also means he would vanish for a while. That spell was exhausting for sure.

He chuckled, leaning back and watching the fabricated moon.

"There is one thing I forgot to mention..." he murmured aloud, closing his eyes, "Time travel is very unpleasant. Its most unpleasant effect is temporary memory loss. That means you're not going to be able to recognize your mother or father... let alone your uncles." He sighed, leaning back. "Then there's the details of you mission, but... oh well."

A wide grin illuminated the pitch black night. Karlheiz summoned a messenger bat and put a letter in its mouth before sending it off through the portal.

"Hmph. Haha. HAHAHAHA!"


	2. 7th Sakamaki

I'm shusexual. We got married in my dreams. ^_^

A/N: Rejet makes me suuuuuper mad, man. D: They can't just make half-baked plots in the name of vampires and make it somewhat interesting but then make suuuuper annoying, unsatisfying endings like in More Blood or the anime! And only giving these vampires merely informed abilities? That's so boring! I mean, I guess in modern, fantastical 'reality', they wouldn't die in the sun or get killed by stakes, but it'd honestly be interesting if they did so, because like, I hate it when most characters are overpowering in the beginning when the others (YUI) obviously have no chance.

Like, some kind of weakness would make great conflict, but nooooo. In the name of vampires, they're just bishie hotties with pale skin and fangs and akldjfa;djfslkdjfal;ksdj auuugh. At least Rejet put down a vampire's true sadism. I'm happy they didn't go all "Stephanie Meyers" on the Sakamakis/Mukamis and make them sparkly, overly sentimental twilight sappiness.

But still, the wangst is getting to me. I feel so super bad for Yui that it's not even funny. She's sweet though probably not the smartest "heroine" I've ever encountered (I'm serious, you don't know how many times I've face palmed throughout the anime because of her decisions), but one fact that we can all take into account is that her heart is bigger than her brain.

Her heart gets in the way of all rational thinking… sometimes.

Poor Yui.

Anyway, I'm not too confident in my abilities to write… um, dark fics. I always ruin it with my fail! Attempts at comedy. And then weird stuff happens.

I take nothing seriously.

…

…

I mean like, during HDB, Shū's second ending. Oh my god. Yui was on the floor dying, and Shu was being all 'deredere angst'. All I'm like is, O/_/O s-so close… crying!Shū is uber kawaii!

Pffft… okay. Let's just get on with the story! ^^

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><p>A week ago, Yui's life had been perfectly dandy. She was in fair standing with her grades, had lots of friends, and had a loving father who taught her all about life from day one.<p>

A week ago, if you'd've told Yui that she'd be held captive by six intimidating men within a splendorous mansion… she probably would've stared at you as though you were some crazy new age prophet and backed away slooooowly.

Yet here she was, standing in the Sakamaki household after a two day road trip.

"So it's like she said just now. That thing about living here." The self-loving "ore-sama" commented with a sly grin. Yui gulped. Her father… he couldn't have possibly sent here to live with only … men?! B-b-but that's improper! Her face went pure red at the thought of living under their roof with only herself as the only woman!

How… awkward.

A dark-haired man, presumably the eldest, sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "It seems there's been no mistake after all. Henceforth, you'll be living with us now." He called an elderly butler to get her luggage.

"J-Just a moment!" Yui blurted out, quickly moving to prevent her luggage from being taken, "This can't be. My father is a priest of a church, so he wouldn't send me away here without my consent! If I'd known, I'd-!" Much to her shock, the butler effortlessly ripped the bags from her vice-like grip, causing her to gasp, "O-OH!"

Why was the butler so strong? He looked quite old, and yet…

Her coral eyes widened with shock and realization as she recounted her steps. The rumors in this strange, new town, the "summoned" bats flying about despite the daylight, and the numerous times these men've been touching her with freezing fingers…!

Turning around, she unsteadily met their eyes with a deep breath.

"You all seem as though you're…" she swallowed, and her throat went dry, "vampires?" Ore-sama, the Pervert, and the Macabre Purple confirmed her questioning tone with dark, surly grins. Their eyes glowing with hunger that positively chilled her to her bones.

"Oya, oya~" The Pervert laughed, "It seems we've been found out."

"Keh. It's about time." The Violent Albino grunted, shooting her a sharp glare.

This.

This was nothing like those superficial and romantic vampire novels her friends swooned over and badgered her to read.

Even so, this just couldn't be happening…!

"It can't be, no," Yui gasped, the atmosphere in the living room became cold and heavy as she cautiously eyed the six vampires surrounding her like wolves. Bringing her clasped hands to her chest, she backed away at their hungry gazes. "Something like this sounds more like a tall tale than anything else!"

"Well then, how about we prove it by having you for dinner~!" The Pervert exclaimed from behind her, his hands shooting out to grab her wrists, forcing her on her knees. She struggled to get away, but his grip only tightened with every move she made. It hurt!

She couldn't move her body!

Cold fingers ghosted across her cheek before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look into a pair of purple eyes wide with craze, he leaned towards her neck with his fangs jutting out. His voice was a low whisper of deathly promise.

"I'll be sure to drink you completely dry… okay?" He whispered, tracing his fangs at her throat.

Her blood. They were going to drain all of her blood?

"N-No… NOOO!" She cried, thrashing with all her might, "Wait a minute! Just wait a minute!" She did her best to move her neck out of reach from the Macabre Purple.

"Struggle all you want. It's useless." A dark chuckle came from Ore-sama as he hovered over her with his arms crossed, looking down at her as if she were a dog. "Even if you say wait, we're not patient as to let you relish your last words. Sorry."

Hot tears stung her eyes as she looked down, astonished by the callousness in his voice. This vampires… these boys… they were playing with her, obviously!

The Macabre Purple grabbed her jaw, forcing her to bare her neck to him as his fangs neared her throat again. Think fast… she had to think of something… quickly!

"I get it… I get it, already!" Yui cried out, startling them with her sudden, surprising strength as she managed to worm out of their hold, instinctively smacking them and sending them stumbling them back. Whew! Never did she believe her father's ridiculous strength training would be put to use!

Nevertheless, the warning sirens in her head were blaring like crazy as the three vampires started at out with menacing looks in their eyes.

"M-My blood isn't that cheap!" Yui suddenly said, getting up and ducking out of their grabby hands. She nearly squeaked as she rounded a couch, playing in an unwanted game of tag with the twin redheads. "Eeep!" She scrambled over the couch when the princely "ore-sama" grabbed for her hair, nearly landing on the sleepy musician in the process, who lazily turned over in his sleep. "So, I'll be the one who g-gets to suck my blood!" At that declaration, a hush befell the entire room as they openly scrutinized her.

Yui realized how she just thoughtlessly declared something so ridiculous just to stop being chased and grabbed out.

"How stupid." The albino snorted. Flinching, she prepared herself for another sneer or insult, but to her surprise, he decided to say something else. "Ain't it fine though? If she wants to choose, then let her choose."

"It has been a while since I've last disciplined a woman with repulsive manners." The dark-haired glasses man hummed in thought, making her tense, "Heh… this will prove quite a challenge."

"…If you don't choose me…" The Macabre Purple mumbled, softly squeezing his bear to his chest, "Hey Teddy… shall we rip her to shreds?" Her heart froze at the sight of his fangs again.

"Naturally," Ore-sama cut in with a dark grin that made her blood run cold, "Naturally, you are going to choose the great me, right?"

"Bitch-chaaaan~!" The Pervert chimed in with a charming smile, but his tone was laced with sickeningly sweet threats, "If you don't choose me, you'll definitely regret not doing so later on…you know?"

The last one stopped at the Sleepy Listener, who hadn't done so much as look at her from the very start. He'd been resting on the velvet couch the entire time, nodding off to his music. Unlike his brothers, he didn't look the least bit interested in her or what she had to offer. However, he must've been keenly aware of what was going on because when the other brothers glanced at him expectantly, he sighed.

A long silence prolonged the atmosphere until he finally looked at her, removing an earbud.

"Whatever. Just hurry up and end this farce." He told her calmly, coldly, with no sense of caring whatsoever.

Something clicked in Yui's head clouded with panic and conflict.

This one… the eldest Sakamaki. S-Surely he wouldn't go out her with his fangs out or his eyes burning with insatiable hunger. From what she learned in the past fifteen minutes, the eldest Sakamaki was dismissive, supremely unmotivated, and had that intense 'shut-up-don't-talk-to-me' vibe.

To Yui, it was music to her ears.

"Uhm… er!" Seeing the other vampires openly eying her with hunger and revolt, she squirmed in defeat. Ohhhh, she didn't have any choice, after all. Inhaling sharply, she helplessly turned to the Sleepy Listener, whose eyes seemed to narrow ever so slightly, "I-I choose y-"

_**CRAAAASSH!**_

Before they could even blink, glass shards spliced through the living like airborne daggers, and a fierce gust of wind chilled Yui to the bone. A tumbling ball of blue and white shot through the glass-stained window, landing on the chandelier with a violent swing. The lights went out, and the room went completely pitch black. A large, gaping black hole formed in the window like a giant mouth before quickly zapping shut.

"KYAAAAAAA!" Yui couldn't help the extremely girly, high-pitched scream that escaped her once the flying thing pounced on her, causing both of them to topple to the ground. "Oh! No! Aah! My hair, my hair! Ouch! Stop pulling so hard! Ow, ow ow!" All six vampire brothers reacted at once, already on their feet. Subaru lifted the attacker into the air with his claw raised, ready to plunge into its throat. Alarmed, the butlers came in and flicked on the other lights, and a hush befell the entire house once again.

The tiny intruder blearily looked around, appearing lost and sleepy. It was a small girl no older than five or six, clutching a music bag against her frail chest. Dangling in mid-air by the scruff of her collar, she sucked on a bright red lollipop while staring at her surroundings.

Yui hesitantly rose to her feet, dusting herself off. She gazed at her attacker with wide eyes, attempting to fix her hair properly. "Wow… how cute! She's so tiny!" She marveled over her big blue eyes and long, curly blonde hair. This little girl reminded her of the old shop dolls she used to fawn over during her childhood.

"WHO'S THIS UGLY BRAT?" The feisty, red-haired vampire snarled in the tiny intruder's face, causing the dark-haired man to wince.

"Ayato. There's no need to shout."

"This brat's the one who came barging in like a home wrecking ball! What do you want me to do, pet her hair and give her candy? What do you say to that, Reiji?" Ayato rounded on the girl with another scowl, snatching her from Subaru and glaring at her. "HUH? Answer me, you bratty bloodsucker! How many more dumb females are gonna come rolling like they own the place? You wrecked the windows and lights! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

The girl merely stretched her arms like a cat before yawning in his face.

The Pervert snickered, "My, my. She doesn't look scared of you, Ayato. Maybe you're losing your touch?"

Ayato looked angry with this reaction, "Hey, are you stupid or deaf or what? When this Ore-sama is asking you a question, you better answer!" Yui cringed in fear when he violently ripped the bag from her grasp and threw it across the room. It landed on the piano, making a distorted tune.

"Put her down this instant." Reiji scolded, "You're making a fool out of yourself." Ayato shot him a glare and was met with a level stare. With a huff, he threw her down on the empty chair none too gently.

"I hate kids." he grumbled.

Yui bit her lip harshly but remained quiet, not bothering to point out his attitude was akin to a childish bully. The poor girl wobbled to a better sitting position.

Reiji approached her in a better manner, staring down at her, "Now, let's be more proper about this. Would you care to tell me your name, little one?" Still, the girl didn't answer. She only stared up at him impassively with large blue eyes and continued sucking her lollipop. Reiji frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose, "This isn't working."

"That's because you're awkward with kids, Reiji~!" The Pervert sang, laughing.

Reiji's lips formed a thin line, "That might be true, but at least I don't waste my time procreating like a dog in heat," his dark eyes flared, "Laito."

Laito flushed with an odd giggle, "Ufufufu~ well, what can I say? I'm the family's hedonist at its very finest."

"Hmph. Pervert." The Violent Albino grumbled with a snort.

"Like father, like son." The Sleepy Listener dryly added before pausing, "Ah, wait… that's wrong. He's exactly like his mother."

Laito pouted, "Mouuu… That's low, both of you. Subaru and Shū are so mean today."

"Well, that's what you get from being the school's manwhore." The Macabre Purple commented with disgust.

"Shut up, all of you. What are we gonna do with this kid?" Ayato snarled, stabbing a thumb in the child's direction.

"This is quite a predicament." Reiji agreed with a sigh, shaking his head. "If nothing else, we'll have to resort to sending her to the Underworld."

Yui's eyes widened in shock. Send the child to where? S-She's only a little girl!

"Idiot. What good'll come out of that?! I bet she's a spy! Maybe she's in league with father's enemies!" Ayato snapped, rounding on the child like a wolf again. "You have three seconds to answer. Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Ayato, don't be so simple-minded." The Macabre Purple mumbled, pulling a knife out from seemingly nowhere. "Obviously, we'll have to beat the information out of her. Beat her into submission."

"Ooooh~ beating a child? That sounds fun." Laito exclaimed, "Let me join!"

What. WHAT?!

"You can't! Don't touch her!" Yui blurted out, shielding the child at once. Worry increased tenfold once she saw the three extremists whip out torture tools from nowhere. Where did they even get those?! At the sight of their murderous and crazed looks, she began to hyperventilate. "Back away, all three of you! She's a child!"

"A _vampire_ child." Ayato sneered, "Out of the way, Chichinashi, before you get hurt."

Yui blinked owlishly, "V… Vampire…?" She repeated faintly, glancing back at the child unsurely, who neither confirmed or denied it. Biting her lip unsurely, Yui shook her head and held her arms out in front of the girl, "It doesn't matter! She's still a child! It's not fair for any of you to be ganging up on her like this! S-Someone you just met, anyway!" She realized the irony of her situation and mentally kicked herself.

The Macabre Purple cast her a condescending look. He sharpened his knife, "Hey, Teddy. Why don't we cut and string both of them up like puppets?" He licked the blade, his eyes hungry, "It'll be more fun that way, don you think?"

Yui's blood went cold.

What a creep!

"You don't stand a chance against us." Ayato blandly stated, daring her to retort.

"I-I know that…" Yui shivered, petrified. For a brief instant, she actually considered backing off. But then, an overwhelming shame smacked her upside for even thinking of such a thing, followed by her maternal instincts wailing like sirens in her head. N-No matter how terrifying these creatures were, she'd at least die trying to do the right thing!

True, she couldn't escape these vampires. They had their resources. Her phone was broken, and her cross didn't work.

Well, if she's gonna die, might as well die grandly?

Oh wait…!

"Um. Come to think of it, none of you have interacted with children before, am I right?" Yui hesitantly put out, wondering when she'd become so talkative.

"What of it?" Subaru grunted, crossing his arms. No one else bothered to answer.

"Well… it's just- well, t-the first thing you should do is act more friendly…" Yui trailed and swiveled around, eying the young vampire child. She forced herself to take a deep breath and relax. She got level with the young child and smiled gently, kindly.

"Hello," she began in a soft, friendly voice, "Is that lollipop tasty?" The child stopped sucking long enough to fully observe the teenager, suddenly interested in hearing what she had to say. Yui quickly added, "I like lollipops, too. They're one of my favorite things to eat."

"Keh. What does she think she's doing? Idiot." Ayato grumbled behind her.

"Shut up, Ayato." Subaru grunted. For a long while, the child merely stared at the smiling Yui. Then she nodded.

"… Un. Tasty."

How cute! She had the sweetest voice imaginable!

Yui's eyes brightened, and she inwardly swooned, "My name is Komori Yui. You can call me Yui." She offered a hand towards the girl, who blinked at the gesture. "What's your name?" The vampire child scrunched her forehead in thought, as if deciding whether or not to tell her. She stared at the offered hand before removing her lollipop from her mouth with a 'pop'!

"Chi…" Was her only reply, but a reply nonetheless.

Yui rose an eyebrow, "Chi?" The vampire girl nodded, bending down and licking Yui's palm. Albeit flustered, she felt a pair of eyes boring into the back of her neck, and she immediately turned to face the Sleepy Listener. Interestingly enough, he looked as though he were in a trance.

Yui blinked.

This person looked so nostalgic somehow… it was odd, coming from someone so aloof.

Their eyes suddenly met, and Yui awkwardly broke it by turning back to the girl, oblivious when a bat flew through the broken window, dropping a letter on the eldest brother's head.

"Oh… I see!" Yui cleared her throat and smiled again, "How old are you, Chi-chan?" The other brothers stood there, continuing to watch in silence. She was tempted to gush over the younger girl who carefully counted with both hands until showing her six fingers.

"Fwuaah…. Fwiive."

Yui gasped exaggeratedly, too charmed to correct the little girl's error, "Five years old! Wow!" Tilting her head, she immediately took her hands in hers. "I always wanted to meet a five-year-old vampire! Look how big you are!" She gushed, "Would you like to be friends?"

Chi blinked, suddenly appearing lost, "Fww… fwiends…?" At her very soft, questioning tone, Yui blinked. Was something wrong? Just as she was about to ask, the eldest brother cleared his throat.

"Sakamaki Chigusa." The little girl immediately perked up. All the key residents, including Yui, turned to the Sleepy Listener, who sighed aloud with disdain, he waved a letter in their faces.

Reiji narrowed his eyes, "That letter has that man's seal…" he furrowed his brows, "Shū, what's the meaning of this?"

Closing his eyes, Shū yawned, "According to 'that man', she's here on private business, and none of us are to interfere. We're only told to oversee her stay until further notice." Upon receiving disbelieving, dirty looks from his younger brothers, he calmly continued, "Apparently, she's a distant relative of ours who came from a faraway place… Since she's a new addition to this household, she's entitled to claiming just like the rest of us." He opened a single eye to regard Yui, "How very convenient for you."

Yui blinked, very confused all of a sudden.

"You mean we have to babysit this little bloodsucker?!" Ayato growled, obviously displeased with the new order. Moreover, he looked sorely disappointed that he didn't get to play with his 'toys', tossing them at a poor servant in his tantrum.

The Macabre Purple didn't look too pleased either, "Sakamaki…? Her? I've never heard or seen her before. Aren't we usually informed of new family members via letters? This is a rather late notice, don't you think?"

"Yeah, this is getting damn annoying." The Violent Albino growled under his breath, his right eye twitching, "Today's been damn noisy. These two… they're real eyesores… darting about like mosquitoes." He rose a fist and slammed it against the wall, causing a huge crack to form. "It makes me wanna crush them both!"

Yui jolted in fright, hastily hiding her freaked-out expression as she clutched Chigusa close to her chest like a teddy bear. N-No, now… now wasn't the time to panic…!

"Well, sorry to disappoint… Kanato. Subaru. But we can't kill them." Shū deadpanned, rolling on his side, "Those are his orders."

His orders? Whose?

Yui's eyes flitted between the brothers, trying to figure out what was going on. This entire time, they've been rambling about some man who sent the mysterious letter regarding Chi-chan. Apparently, this man is also the one who arranged her stay her? Her father's so-called friend?

She turned to Chi-chan, who only sat there, sucking on her lollipop without a care in the world. Unlike herself and everyone else in the room, she didn't look at all deterred with the arrangement. She even didn't look a little frightened of these men. In fact, she looked like she was stuck with very boring playmates.

"Distant relative? Yeah, right." Ayato scoffed, glaring disdainfully at Chigusa, "I'll bet that man probably knocked up another woman again and resulted in this," he poked her chest harshly, causing her to cough in surprise, "unwanted mistake." He glared over at Subaru, "Just like someone we all know."

Subaru's face went dark purple with rage, and he stomped over towards Ayato with a snarl. Grabbing him by the shirt collar, he got all up in his face and sized him up, "Say that again… YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Don't bring mother into this." Kanato growled lowly.

Ayato shoved Subaru off, sizing him up, "You looking for a fight! I'll give one to you right here!"

"Hah! You think you're better than me?"

"I _know_ I'm better than you, underling! I'm the best!"

"Moving onto more important matters…," Reiji drawled in a warning tone, cracking his whip for emphasis. Reluctantly, both of them separated but shot each other death glares from across the room. Yui swallowed, feeling caught in a crossfire. "You've yet to make your choice, Komori Yui." He told her, narrowing his eyes, "So, who is it? Which Sakamaki will drink from you?"

Suddenly, the room felt very heavy with tension…

Yui swallowed, sliding past the couch with a nervous laugh.

"Oh! W-were we still doing that?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course we were." Ayato snapped, "Unless you want us to have some kind of gladiator's battle over you?"

Yui stared at him in shock, "G-Gladiator's battle?"

"Ufufu~ that would be fun. The last one standing claims this pretty Bitch~?"

"Troublesome." Shū complained.

"How about a race instead? Whoever reaches her first gets to drink from her." Kanato suggested, much to the surprise of the rest of the group.

Yui jumped up, sputtering and waving her hands frantically, "Nooo! I don't want that! You can't!"

Reiji turned towards her with a sigh, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but were you going to choose Shū?" Yui froze in place, hesitating to answer.

"A-ah, w-w-well, n-n-no… not really, er-!" Pink scattered across her face when she felt the heat of Shū's eyes on her. "W-what makes you think that?" She finished with a nervous laugh.

"I'll have you know it would be a grave mistake on your part. This man here," he gestured towards Shū, "Don't expect him to come jumping to your rescue should one of us approach you. He's a useless, baseless, and fickle existence who barely has the willpower to live. A disgrace to our own kind. In fact, he's the one error that mars this beautiful room."

Yui stared at him in disbelief. How could he say such things when Shū was right there? Didn't he care that he was within earshot? Like, right there. Her eyes drifted over to Shū, who appeared to be either ignoring them or sleeping.

Oh… maybe he didn't hear him, after all?

"Make your choice, Bitch-chaaaan~." Laito playfully called, winking at her flirtatiously, "Who will it be?" Yui felt like a rabbit surrounded by wolves, sensing danger immediately. She had to hurry up or else.

"Um, I-I choose-!" Yui stammered, backing away as they closed in on her, trying to calm her breathing. Her mind became overwhelmed with panic, and at the last moment, she turned to the kindergartner perched on the velvet seat, unwrapping another lollipop. Zooming past Ayato, Laito, and Kanato, she immediately latched onto the kindergartner. "I choose Chi-chan!"

Chigusa blinked up at Yui in surprise, dropping the lollipop by accident. Wiggling out of her grip, she bent down to retrieve it.

Ayato's jaw dropped, and he began to sputter, "Oi! You can't do that!"

"I agree. Leave that girl out of this…" Kanato growled.

"W-Why not?" Yui stammered, clutching onto the girl like her lifeline again. "I-It's like Sakamaki-san said, erm…" She gestured towards Shū, "Chi-chan is a resident here, isn't she? A-a-and she's entitled to claim… or whatever." Ayato and Kanato bared their fangs at her words, and Yui hurriedly added, "You said I could choose any Sakamaki, and…! I've made my choice! Chi-chan here is the only one who can suck my blood!"

"SHU-!" Ayato loudly protested, "Tell her she can't do that! We can't allow it! I found this girl first, and she's mine!"

"We only mentioned that she could choose any Sakamaki. The conditions are met, Ayato." Shū nonchalantly informed, waving him off, "That half-pint is not only our guest; she's a Sakamaki. Like I said before, she's entitled to claim. Stop making me repeat myself."

Ayato gritted his teeth but turned away in defeat, "Damn it…"

Laito pouted, "Losing to a little girl? This is the worst day ever."

"Hmph." Reiji closed his eyes, "Such a shame."

"She doesn't look like much to me." Kanato huffed, eying the newest Sakamaki with disgust and hatred, "Are you even past the teething stage, little brat? Teddy says your molars are no match for mine." Chigusa didn't reply. Instead, she rolled her lollipop inside her mouth, her left cheek bulging with the treat. Kanato sniffed, shuffling away, "Ugh. She's such a bore."

Yui's shoulders sagged in relief. She was immensely glad to've made a lucky choice in the nick of time. By the looks of things, she wouldn't lasted a week with any of the brothers! At least with one other girl in the house, she felt more at ease. Even if said girl was a kindergartner with strange mannerisms.

"Hah. Just lemme make this clear to you," Ayato loomed over the little girl, sneering in her face "If you see me coming, you better jump out of the way. Don't piss the Great Ore-sama off, and don't touch what belongs to Ore-sama… one day, Chichinashi will belong to Ore-sama." He flickered her nose, causing Chigusa to glower. "Additionally, you will call me, 'Ayato-sama', got it, Bloodsucker?"

"Grr…" Chigusa's face darkened with rage. It seemed she finally grew tired his relentless bullying, so she did the one thing vampire children were strictly forbidden to do: she bit another vampire. Hard. Her tiny fangs chomped into his wrist until he screamed in pain and rage.

**NOM!**

_**CRUNNNCH!**_

"OWW!"

"Sakamaki-san!" Yui cried, immediately rushing over. "Release him, Chi-chan! You can't do that!" None of his brothers bothered to help him, instead they watched with interest as Yui tried to pry the kindergartner's jaws from Ayato's hand.

Shū chuckled, apparently roused from his nap, "Heehh. That was uncalled for."

"Uwahh… that looks like it hurts." Laito commented with a smirk. "Maybe she's even more vicious than I thought."

"Oh, please. I can do better." Kanato grumbled, rolling his eyes.

In a split second, Ayato shoved his other hand in Chigusa's face and pushed her off with a loud snarl. He looked positively livid. Chigusa, however, didn't let him go so easily. Right before Yui snatched her out of harm's way, she kicked his shin as hard as she could, emitting a sharp yelp from the boy.

"HA! Serves you right, idiot!" Subaru burst into a bout of snickers, slapping his knee. His face broke into a fanged, feral grin, "She's got the right idea, putting you in your place."

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!" Ayato snarled hatefully at Chigusa, who rushed behind Yui before he could throttle her.

"And how old are we turning this year, Ayato? Enough of this fighting already…" Reiji suddenly sighed, rubbing his temples. "As much as I detest this sudden arrangement, we have no choice but to comply. There's no use pouting about it, all of you." He turned towards the girls with a slight nod, "Make yourselves welcome and do as you see fit, but I advise you both not to overstay your welcome by doing anything foolish or reckless of any sort. Don't bring shame to this house."

Yui nodded hastily, "Um, yes! We understand! Don't we, Chi-chan?" Chigusa blinked before removing the lollipop in her mouth and offering to Reiji. She sweat-dropped and immediately laughed nervously, trying to break Reiji's somewhat annoyed and disgusted look.

"Are you expecting me to throw that away?"

"It's a peace offering!" Yui hastily explained, lifting Chigusa into her arms, "I-It's what children do when they want to become friends o-or to resolve a conflict?"

"Oh. By sharing." Reiji suddenly understood, feeling somewhat embarrassed while ignoring his brothers snickering in the background. "Regardless, I don't want it." He told Chigusa with a stern frown, "Haven't your parents taught you it's rude to… give people things that you already put in your mouth? Goodness."

Yui inwardly frowned. Chigusa appeared to droop like a wilted flower, disappointedly staring at her rejected lollipop. Then she put it back in her mouth glumly.

"Come, everyone. It's time for bed. We've had more than enough excitement for one day." Reiji announced, causing his younger brothers to grudgingly mutter and trudge upstairs. He was the last to follow but not before sending one last sharp glance towards Yui. "We're enrolling you in school. I suggest you not keep your guard down, even when you're in your room." He turned away, "That is all. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Yui didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until relief overwhelmed her. She let out a huge sigh of relief, rubbing her temples. "Wow. That sure was intense."

Chigusa squirmed out of Yui's hold, wiggling until she landed on the ground with a soft thump. The vampire child ran across the room to retrieve her music bag. She plopped on her knees with a small huff, shaking the glass from the bag before adjusting the strap around her. Then she approached Yui, rummaging through her bag until she pulled out a lollipop, offering it to the older girl.

"For me? Thank you." Yui graciously accepted the lollipop, smiling down at Chigusa. "You don't know how relieved I am that we're together, Chi-chan." Her face fell all of a sudden, "I mean, I can't imagine what would happen if I were to choose anyone else." She shivered, "Thinking about it makes my blood turn into ice!"

"Blood…!" Chigusa repeated with starry eyes full of hope, batting her eyelashes at Yui.

Yui hesitated, "Oh, that's right. I'm supposed to feed you…" she sighed, "Well, it can't be helped, I suppose. I'll just have to bear with it." She thought aloud, tapping her chin. Hm… as frightening her situation was, having her blood sucked by a child didn't bother her all that much, honestly… She broke into a happy smile, "I love kids, after all~."

"Oh? I take it you don't know the difference between human and vampire children then." Someone interjected with a huff. Yui turned to find Shū resting on the couch, splayed out with his feet on the armrests, looking as though he owned the place…

Haha, which he did.

Yui stifled a squeak when he suddenly got up and loomed over her with eyes of a predator. Chigusa suddenly began tugging at the older girl's sweater, trying to get her attention.

"I'm the eldest, so I would know." Shū said, "Watching my brothers grow up is proof is proof enough, and I can only conclude one thing. Vampire children are devil incarnates." He shuddered, looking as though he were reliving horrible memories, "All the screaming, the roughhousing… the hair-pulling… they'll hide where you'll least expect them, break your things, pull nasty pranks on you when you're not looking." He exhaled sharply. "The triplets were the worst. Sadly enough, they're not half as bad as their mother, and that's saying something… uhh… all those sleepless nights… I can't even…" He hung his head miserably, trembling like a leaf. "Ugh…"

"Uh? S-Sakamaki-san, are you alright?" Yui reached out hesitantly but changed her mind at the last moment when he suddenly shot up with his cold expression intact.

"Blood! Blood! Blood…!" Chigusa chanted, yanking on Yui's sweater with startling strength. The young adults looked down on her, observing her growing impatience.

Yui bit her lip unsurely, "U-Um, please wait, Chi-chan… "

Shū chuckled sardonically, closing his eyes with a hum, "Are you finally regretting your decision? After all, she might be even worse than _Kanato_." He smirked, "I'm only telling you this one time: taking care of a vampire child will drain more than just your energy… you might die from blood loss due from being sucked dry, or you might go crazy from exhaustion and starvation. At the very least, you'll be so sluggish from blood donations… do you know how much blood vampire children consume in one day? They need lots of it. Probably more than the rest of us combined here." A dark smile contorted Shū's face when Yui's face began to pale. "What's wrong? Are you frightened?"

"No, no! Of course not." Yui immediately denied, holding up her hands in defense.

"Really…" 'Shū's eyes drifted over to the smaller blonde, who stared back at him-well, it was more like a glare, really. She was making it clear that she didn't trust anyone in this household, and he was no exception. She moved a little closer to Yui, possessively clutching onto her waist with a growl. "What? You think I'm going to steal her away?" He asked blandly, cocking his head. "Don't go making sour faces at your elders. I wouldn't exert myself for her even if you asked me to."

Chi-chan openly glared at him, puffing her cheeks. There was something else in her eyes… something _contemptuous_, but Shu couldn't imagine why. He knew that look all too well. That look she was sending his way was akin to the looks Reiji shot him when they passed each other by chance.

…It was as if this girl disliked him for some… _personal_ reason.

_'I'm thinking too much, but I'm not exactly thrilled with the way she's staring at me like that...' _Shū stared at Chigusa for a few minutes longer before shrugging and turning his heel. "Whatever." He grunted, flopping back on the couch, for he was too lazy to ascend the stairs and make it to his room. It was just too much work getting back up again. With one last look towards Yui, he called out, "Had not been for her untimely arrival, you'd've chosen me, right?" Watching her freeze mid-way upstairs, he smirked slightly. "Well… I won't complain if a meal comes tumbling in without me doing anything. If you desire to be sucked, then all you have to do is come find me."

Inhaling sharply, she momentarily whipped around with a indignant look. Her fists remained clenched at her sides as she stomped up the stairs.

"No thank you!" she retorted, not even looking back.

* * *

><p>There was definitely no chance of that happening!<p>

Steam rose from the bathtub, wafting into Yui's bedroom as she undressed. She'd been pacing for about an hour now, trying to figure out a way to contact her father.

"No good! That won't work either!" Yui groaned for the umpteenth time, ruffling her hair and throwing herself on the sink. "Where will I find another phone anyway? All the wires are cut, and…" An exaggerated sob as she began banging her fist against the mirror, "That violent, white-haired Sakamaki broke my phone…" She sighed aloud as she brushed her hair, frowning at her reflection in the mirror.

Well, there was no use worrying about it all day. She'd just have to wait for the perfect chance.

Still, she thought while looking down at the sink, chewing her lip in frustrated thought, why had Father sent her here of all places? Maybe he wasn't aware this house was full of vampires? Maybe he'd been tricked?

_'Fat chance_,' a voice sneered in the back of her head, manifesting her doubt and frustration. '_Just what are the odds of that?'_

"Well, what? I'm supposed to believe he'd just sell me out like that? Father isn't that kind of man!" Yui argued back, mentally kicking the stubborn voice out of her head. "I can't really do anything about it now…" She sulked hopelessly. The last time she tried running away resulted in a stubbed toe, running into trees, and getting tackled to the ground by a certain dominant redhead.

A wooden bang brought her back to reality, startling Yui with a gasp. She looked down to see Chigusa attempting to climb onto the counter, grunting in effort. Immediately, she helped the girl and sat her near the sink.

"I hope you won't tell anyone what I've said. You overheard me, didn't you…" Yui began, fishing a comb out of her accessory kit.

"Mmm..." Chigusa hummed thoughtfully before nodding, sucking a new lollipop. "Mmm-hmm! Yui wanna go home." She lowered her head before pouting slightly. "Don't like scary place."

Yui bashfully smiled, and she held a finger in front of her lips, "Please don't tell your relatives. It's a secret between us, okay?" Chigusa nodded again, very seriously. She copied Yui immediately.

"Shh."

Yui brightened up, "Good!" She moved to brush the younger girl's hair, humming as she did. Chigusa didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to like it, swinging her feet freely and nodding off to Yui's tune. Combing her fingers through the mop of pale curls, Yui seemed to be in a trance as she smiled dazedly, "How strange. My hair was just like yours when I was your age. It's really thick and heavy… but it's so pretty." She then laughed, "I had a terrible time managing it! I had to cut it short eventually… but long hair is really nice, isn't it…"

Chigusa nodded in reply.

"It's really strange. Now that I think about it, you really look a lot like the vampires here…" Yui gazed at her thoughtfully. Chigusa had the same pale skin and limber appearance as the other vampires did. Her face was more round, and her blue eyes were bigger, of course. Out of all the brothers, she seemed to resemble Shū quite a bit.

…

Haha. What a funny coincidence. Yui hid her laugh behind her hand, shaking her head. Oh, today was really getting to her.

Yui finally finished combing the girl's hair. With a satisfied hum, she bent down to her level, "Once we're done taking a bath, would you like me to walk you over to your room?"

"Un…" Chigusa nodded, rubbing her eyes. Yui's smile faded a little. She was so quiet for her age. Usually, children she's come across were loud and playful. It sort of worried her. "…Sleepy." Chigusa yawned, hopping off the sink and immediately diving into the bath with a loud splash. Yui gasped, getting up.

"Wait! Chi-chan, you're still wearing your clothes! Uwaa..." She gasped, tripping over the rug before falling face-first into the bubbles, "UWAAAH~!"

**SPLASHHH!**

* * *

><p>Late at night, there was no sound within the Sakamaki mansion, save for Yui's steady breathing as she slept. Chigusa, with a towel on her head, stared down at her slumbering form, watching her flinch and quiver.<p>

Unbeknownst to the older girl, Chigusa had seen her cry herself to sleep.

"N-No... don't..." Yui sobbed, clutching her pillows. "Don't leave me, Father..." Frowning thoughtfully, she stood there and stared until an idea hit her.

_Tup. Tup. Tup._

The tiny blonde returned with a mountain of blankets and piled them on top of the sleeping girl. With a grunt, she pulled the covers over Yui, who finally quieted down. After prying the white crucifix from her clenched fingers, she rested it on the nightstand and quietly backed away. She observed her work with a serious look and nodded, sucking on her lollipop.

Then she turned and tiptoed out of the room, locking the door before silently shutting it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** OM NOMNOMNOM. I eat reviews for energy.


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